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We have gotten so used to a revolving door of political leaders that the prospect of a leadership challenge each time things get a little hot has become normalised. I never thought I would say this, but as an Aboriginal feminist with hard-left personal politics, last week I almost found myself viewing the Howard years in a favourable light.
Becalmed, bereft, besieged by race memory and hip pocket absorption, a nation of travellers and seafarers swallow leaders' sleight-of-hand, as they conjure pirates from refugees, demons from daughters, sons and lovers.
Labor has gone beyond the worst features of the Howard Government by betraying the central principle underlying any ethical refugee policy. One can only imagine what the Coalition Government that will most likely follow the next election will build on this abrogation of principle.
With no hint of regret or apology, John Howard has defended his decision to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He gives no consideration to the just war criteria. This is not surprising, as on all these principles the case for a just war fails.
If smelly shoes are the last objects of resistance then the occupation of Iraq will never end. The culturally co-optive nature of benevolent groups to take on causes and speak on behalf of those who allegedly cannot speak for themselves is disturbing.
The Howard years made me feel ashamed to be Australian, and I felt about his electoral defeat the way East Germans felt about the Berlin Wall coming down: as a kind of cleansing. Rudd disappoints for a different reason.
Most of these could be described as love songs, even when they focus on the land, on values or on people overwhelmed by misery. Although they tap deeply into the darkness of being human, they are sweet and wistful in the hope that animates them.
Tony Abbott has declared John Howard's statement, 'We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come', to be 'self-evidently and robustly true'. The Australian people deserve a better basis for policy than an appeal to self-interest.
The military misadventures of nations including Australia contribute greatly to the motivation of asylum seekers. Australian immigration policy must de-emphasise border protection in favour of being a 'good international citizen'.
The Rudd Government's abolition of the Temporary Protection Visa on 9 August was a source of deep hope for refugees and their supporters. However the new rule has not yet been applied to many older cases, and there is no pressure on officials to act quickly.
The most profound shock to Australian foreign policy was not 9/11 but our change of government in 1996. Under Rudd Labor, Australia's international agenda is once again becoming less about national security and more about being a good international citizen.
Last week, Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans paid a little-publicised visit to Jakarta for talks with ministerial counterparts on border control and people smuggling. The circumstances suggest Evans could be out of his depth, and at risk of policy capture by his department.
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